Get ready to learn more about the book Tourist Trap in this discussion with sapphic author Kim Katil.
Join us for an exclusive peek behind the scenes as we quiz Kim Katil about Tourist Trap, writing, reading, and more.
This book is part of the Valentine’s Romance category in the 2024 IHS Reading Challenge.
Why did you write Tourist Trap?
I love shared universe setups, where there’s a group of authors that set up a whole town just to tell their stories. Each story stands on it’s own, but is also part of a broader community. It’s that community, of the authors involved and the town itself, that spoke to me.
I have some amazing co-authors in the Summit Springs series and it helps bring everything together.
Who is your favorite character in the book?
My favorite character is Trisha, because she is me on a lot of levels. I also grew up at the Jersey shore, working at restaurants and dealing with a lot of the same characters. You would not believe what goes on in the back of house that’s for sure.
How did you come up with the title for your book?
I had a lot of fun coming up with ideas for this, but my main thought was that Trisha wanted nothing to do with tourist towns and businesses ever again, but falls right into the middle of one. Hence Tourist Trap.
How much research did you need to do for Tourist Trap?
The most fun research I did was into the fashions and history of the Roaring 20s for the soiree that occurs in the book.
I did some research on the commercial/legal aspects of running a B&B but a lot of the details were things I was familiar with. I had worked in restaurants as a teenager, and also worked at two different B&Bs at the Jersey Shore.
I also did some research into vets and kittens, just to make sure I didn’t have my characters do anything ill-advised.
The main challenge was making sure to keep the consistency with the other books in the series and keeping on top of the series bible for that.
If you’re planning a sequel, can you share a tiny bit about your plans for it?
I am currently working on my next release in the Summit Springs world. It will release in April, and one of the main characters is Erica, who is a florist who shows up briefly in Tourist Trap.
What is your writing process like?
I am a pantser through and through. I find more about my characters and their stories and even get to meet new and unexpected characters as I write. It’s a lot of fun, but also a wee bit stressful.
Where do you usually write, and what do you need in your writing space to help you stay focused?
I used to do a lot of travel for my day job, and actually find I love to write in all sorts of places. On the plane is a great place to write, but so is at a bar. I used to go to the bar with a Bluetooth keyboard for my phone and people watch.
I don’t travel nearly as much these days, but on a recent business trip did get in a great session of plane writing.
Do you have a pet who helps/hinders your typing?
I have a dog who I’ve decided is my Life Coach. He is a rescue we got two years ago. He was supposed to be a shepherd mix, but it turns out he’s 100% Belgian Malinois. We have a schedule and he tries to keep me to it. Right now, even though it’s the weekend, he’s gotten me up to the office and I’m getting some writing in. Until one of the kids needs some help with something!
Best of all, he herds me up to the bedroom at bedtime.
He’s great with the whole family, but is definitely my dog, and that makes the trips in to the office and for travel much harder – on both me and him!
What has helped or hindered you most when writing a book?
For me, it’s two things. I really think best as I write. I don’t need an outline for the chapter, I just need to start writing it. So I need to get past the blank page.
The second thing is sometimes I just need to disconnect and let myself think. If I’m always writing, working, and consuming media of some type (books, podcasts, videos) I don’t have a moment for inspiration. When I let my mind wander is when I can catch those ideas that flit past. The shower is a wonderful time for this – I even got one of those waterproof notepads to hang up in my shower.
What do you do to get inside your character’s heads?
Usually a scene idea is what starts me with a character. I have that one scene that defines what they are going through and I start from there. For Trisha from Tourist Trap it’s the scene where her family sells the business to her brother. For me, that set up the whole character.
What books did you grow up reading?
I grew up reading Science Fiction and Fantasy. So Tolkien is somewhere very deeply imprinted on me. I loved Ursula Le Guin, and have a very well-used set of paperbacks of her Wizard of Earthsea series. We had a bookmobile while I was growing up and I remember grabbing anything they had (which wasn’t much), so I was reading the Children of Dune series when I was in grade school.
As I grew older I became drawn to the works of Guy Gavriel Kay, and the lyric fantasy and history of his stories.
I love worldbuilding, and how it really gives a framework for any kind of story. I also love characters that make you want them to succeed throughout an entire book. Those are the pieces I try to bring to my stories.
Describe your favorite reading spot.
Favorite? Sitting in a hammock at a great camping spot in the woods. Letting myself be drawn into the story, but also appreciating the world around me. The campfire that crackles in the background, the sound of the owls hooting in the woods, and the sound of the large animals wandering by.
